Thursday, December 13, 2012

Mid December


Oh my heavenly stars!  Here it is the middle of December and I'm not even close to being ready for Christmas. How did it get here so quickly? I guess I'm going to have to get into gear and get moving. I did put up a tree of sorts - a quilted one on my table. It's only a small tree and it only has 3 ornaments and a star. You might have seen it here on a blog post when I finished it. But in case you didn't, here it is again.

It is currently hanging on a table stand on my dining room table. I can glance at it while eating meals. It's the only decorating I've done so far - guess I should get busy. But you know, I think I've really been busy enough. I need to get my quilt guild's web page updated and I'm still working full time. But hey, it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

Looks like the temps will be in the freezing bracket tomorrow morning. Guess I'd best be ready to defrost the car before heading to work. With luck it won't be too bad.

We're definitely in winter mode here now. We've had some major rain and now it looks like some good solid frost will be next. Yep, it's December!

Well, I'm going to sign this off and will write more another day. Till then, have fun and stay out of trouble.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

December already!

How on earth did we get to December already? Seems like just yesterday we celebrated the new year. Guess I've been that busy. Between quilt guild, Eastern Star, work and home, I stay pretty busy.

I've made it through the month of November fairly unscathed. Was debatable about crossing river yesterday, but I made it and the river stayed below flood warning. The morning didn't look good as the river was rising at one foot per hour. That's a lot of water! It finally trickled down to a half foot per hour which was nice for me as I could get home before dark and with mostly dry conditions.

November was installation season for Eastern Star and I made most of the ones I wanted to. I won't be making the last one for my district as the river is heading up again and I"m not getting stuck on the other side! Been there, done that, don't care to do it again.

My quilt guild will be meeting this coming week and our UFO project just really didn't get off the ground. We had way more quilts to go and unless a miracle occurs, they are not all getting done by December's meeting. I know I didn't finish all of mine. I feel pretty good about my percentage of finished though. I made it through 77% of my list. I have a portion of the other 23% almost done, but they won't make it for this year. Still have to do my Christmas block for guild and I have a couple other projects lefts that will need finishing first.

I was installed as Worthy Matron of my chapter for the ensuing year of 2013 in November. Now I need to finish off the first newsletter of the year and get it mailed out. May even start printing this weekend. Have to do labels and fold the newsletters. Have to put the dues envelopes in them and I can't use staples since the post office put them on the "Don't under any circumstances use staples" list. Would have made it  a lot easier.

Off to work on my projects. Have to finish the laundry and then I can my stuff. Take care and I'll try to do better in posting.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Weather Turned to Fall

Well, yes, I know it IS fall - but the weather hadn't truly caught up until today. I went for a drive from my house to my Mom's house. And while part of the drive was nice, a bit blustery but nice, the other part was definitely Fall like. I had rain coming through the lake and mountain area. Now at mom's, the clouds have wandered off and there will be, I suspect, frost come morning. I put out her garbage cans for pickup tomorrow morning, and I could see my breath in the late afternoon air.

The reason I ventured to Mom's is because she took a fall Oct. 27th. While nothing is broken, she is stiff, sore and still bruised almost two weeks later. Since our family is so close, I felt it would be a good idea to come over and see how she is. I hadn't planned on venturing over this early in the month. I was looking at Thanksgiving weekend. However, a daughter does what a daughter feels she has to do. No one pushed me, no one twisted my arm. So here I sit working on my blog while she naps.

I will be working on some of my quilting stuff. I brought enough to work on so that I have things to do. I could work on my counted cross stitch Siberian Tiger if I wanted to. I could work on my computer and get the program finished up for my installation as Worthy Matron a week from Sunday. I could read a book. I suppose I could take a nap. Nope, got too much to do.

Hopefully Mom will feel much better by Thanksgiving as she is scheduled to have company. Hard on the company when the hostess is napping instead of visiting. So here's thinking good thoughts and healing thoughts.

Later folks, enough for now.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Another Season

Okay, most people say there are 4 seasons in the year - winter, spring, fall & summer. Well for those of us in Eastern Star, there is a 5th season. It's called Installation Season and it starts with a roar on Nov. 1st. Most are held on weekends, some are on the Chapter's regular meeting night. Just depends on the Chapter's by-laws.

As a Past Matron of my chapter, I have been invited on more than occasion to participate in someone else's installation. So for me, the season starts today. While I could have done a couple earlier, I have other things I like to do. One Saturday this month, I have 3 to attend. This year it actually goes into the first weekend of December.

So my calendar is busy, my husband is lonely. I tend to forget to write to people. I frequently forget what day of the week it is. My laundry gets behind. Meals are often the same from installation to installation. By the end of the month, I'm more than ready for that long winter's nap mentioned in a story book rhyme.

And so begins a month of fun & sometime confusion. I enjoy it to the max and am super glad when it's over. This year, I will be installed again as a Worthy Matron of my chapter. Rumors flying indicate that the world as we know it will end in December 2012  - or is it the calendar that we know that will end? I guess we'll all find out when New Year's 2013 gets here.

Stay safe on your trails and enjoy the ride!

Monday, October 29, 2012

World Series Winning Giants

Okay, I admit it!  I'm a 3rd generation Giants fan. My grandfather, then my mother, now me. While SF Giants started off in New York where grandpa was born and my mother as well, grandpa's faith in his team never wavered. It only changed from the East Coast to the West Coast. My mom was raised listening to the games on radio long before there was a TV in the house. As a child, I'd watch with grandpa and when his eyes closed, I thought he was asleep. Grandma would try to change the channel and he'd be right quick to say "what are you doing, I'm only resting my eyes" to which her answer was "In that case, what's the score?". And he could tell her the score, the inning and how many outs.

Yes, I'm a die hard 3rd generation Giants fan and proud of it. I'll be one til my dying day whether they win or lose. It's a family tradition. My siblings are the same way. So we will cheer really loud when they are down just as we cheer loudly when they win. It was a pleasure to be able to see them win the playoffs. It was amazing to see them win the World Series when the soothsayers and odds takers all said the Detroit Tigers would win. No one could hit off their star pitcher. Well, some one forgot to tell the Giants as they did manage to hit off the Tigers star pitcher.

Now I will admit it would have been sweeter to have them win at home, but, hey, I'll take a win anyway they can get it. Have to feel sorry for the folks in Detroit though. They bought tickets, I understand the games were a sell out, and sat in the cold rain to watch their team lose. My Giants showed they could play in that weather and win. Guess San Francisco fog and rain is good for something after all.

Well, till next year, they get to rest for a long winter's nap. GO GIANTS!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Fall is finally here

Actually, it made it a few weeks ago and I'm just finding time to let folks know. We have had rain, we have had wind, we have had sunlight. We've had gray cloudy days. I love it. We finally turned the central heat on. Or rather, hubby did while I was gone the last couple nights.

I've been to Fresno for Grand Chapter (Eastern Star for those who don't know). I've been voted Worthy Matron elect of my chapter. I've worked. I've played. I'd almost forgotten that I needed to put something on my blog. I'm sure you all know what happens when you get busy - little things go right out of your poor overworked brain. Okay, it does mine.

I realized Christmas is now less than 2 months away. Egads! Where did the year go? I haven't finished everything I wanted to finish and I am running out of time. Do you suppose if I asked for "more time" for Christmas I'd get it? Probably not. Worth a try, though.

Guess I'll put the quilt back on the bed and sleep nice & cuddly warm until spring arrives. Somehow it seems forever till it will arrive again. I am thinking that winter this year will be long and cold. My intuition hasn't told me yet if it will be wetter than usual.

Off to find that warm bed.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Deer Season

Good day to you all!  Our deer season has started off very good to us in our group. We have hanging in our pump house 3, yes I said 3, deer. The guys were all lucky enough to "bag" their legal buck this year. Mine is still up on the hill somewhere and I will try to "bag" my own before the season is over in two weeks.

It was nice weather and just cool enough that the deer were up and moving. The first one, a nice 3x3 buck, was taken Saturday morning. The second one, a nice 2x2, was taken Saturday evening. The third one, a 3x2, was taken Sunday morning. I am happy to report that this will put meat into three freezers. I can hardly wait to try my hand at making our freezer have more meat.

One night this next week we will have liver & onions to celebrate. Then later in the week, there will be a butchering party to get it all wrapped for the freezer it will be going to. Maybe by the time I get a chance to try my luck, they'll be ready to do more butchering.

Oh, well. Such is the life of a hunter.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Since the last posting

Good day to all!

As I sit here to write this, I realize that it's been way too long since I posted anything. So much has happened and I just keep "forgetting" to add to my blog page.

So, I will try to make this short and to the point.

My friend and I went to the Sisters' Outdoor quilt show in July. It's always the second Saturday in July. This year they celebrated their 37th year. We had a marvelous time until about 2pm. That's when the clouds really started to seriously roll in. By about 2:15pm we were feeling the occasional drip of rain. By 2:30pm we noticed that quilts were coming down (Show goes til 5pm). By 2:45pm it was raining and we decided to head for the car. By 3pm we were sitting in the car and had just shut the doors when the hail started. Yep, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show had finally been cut short by rain! We were both soaking wet and just sat there waiting for the hail to stop and the rain to get lighter before heading out of town. Not an easy thing when everyone who had come to see the quilts was doing the same.

We stayed with a friend who lives a few miles out of Sisters so as to avoid the hotel bill. We had been working on a quilt for her and we gave it to her on our arrival at her house.
This is the top before we got it finished. Realized the other day we hadn't gotten a picture of it with our friend. It's called Gardening with Angels and is a block of the month pattern from Stitchin' Post in Sisters, OR. She bought it in 1998 and we put it together in 2012 for her. She loves it! And we are so glad.

I've been to a workshop, a wedding, a quilt retreat weekend with friends and of course, work. That pretty much catches you up and I'll try to do better at updating. Summer is just a very busy time for me and I tend to let some things go.

Take care and enjoy life.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Another Falls off the list

Yes, another UFO has fallen off the list. I have now completed the 13th of my UFOs. I'm proud and very glad to have reached this milepost.

This is another Patch Ability pattern and I'm pleased to have finished it. It may become a gift for Christmas or it may just stay at my house. Don't know yet as I haven't gotten started on ideas for Christmas.  I also have finished another couple of small projects by the same pattern company.

This one I call "Dentist's Delight" - rather obvious since it's a candied apple. I found this while on a quilt shop hop in April. The pattern, and the top already made, was in a sale bin at one shop. Since I'd been looking at the pattern thinking it would be fun to have for Halloween time, I bought it. Less than the pattern as a kit, but more than just the pattern, I got one sweet deal on it. It wasn't on my UFO list as it hadn't been started by me before January 1, 2012 and I didn't pick it up till April. But I am pleased to say, it is finished, and in less than 3 months of the time I picked it up.

Now this "Shy Rabbit" is a pattern from the Patch Ability 2012 monthly minis, April's to be precise. I had the fabric for the border and wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. Until I saw this pattern and then I knew! While I'm whittling down my UFO list, I'm also still working on other projects that didn't make it to that list. This shy bunny might be the Easter Bunny - can't tell since we can't see this bunny. But then no one has seen the Easter Bunny recently either. Hmmm?

Well, thanks for checking in. Hope you enjoy my pictures and stories as much as I enjoy parking them out here for you to read. Till next time, stay cool.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Celebrate July 4th

Yes, I said celebrate July 4th! This day represents the history of having "separated" from the "mother country" of England. We came here, or rather our fore fathers did, to be free to pray the way we wanted, to be able to do things without tyranny. We all need to remember out history and thank those who have made it the way it is.

We all celebrate it differently. Some with big parties and huge fireworks, some just stay home and relax. Some use it as an extension for a long weekend. Some will sit and have a small family bbq. What will you do?

My day will be spent with family. We will get together and just have a good time. No big party, no fireworks. Not that I would want to have fireworks after seeing the devastation that Colorado has had with fires. I just don't want to run the risk and hope you won't either.

Happy 4th of July!

Monday, June 18, 2012

More UFO's finished

Yes, I have finished two more of my UFO's from quilt guild.

This Magical Frosty snowman is the January 2011 Patch Ability mini monthly and I finally have him done. He's a right jolly snowman and I though he looked very magical. Not "Frosty the Snowman" but most likely a very close relative.

My second finish is at the other end of the calendar and is from November 2011. Wish I could say that I'm staying caught up with this year's set. But, you guessed it, I'm behind on it as well. I only have one more after this November 2011 to finish off the 2011 year. Maybe next year I'll get it done? Anyway, let's show you the November 2011 Pumpkin Patch.

I wish I had more to show, but this will have to do for tonight. I have a couple more projects in the works, but nothing else is ready for the "show & tell" time I have going here.

May you all have air conditioning when it gets hot, heat when it gets cold. Right now I'm leaning toward the air conditioning as the temps in my neighborhood have been a whole lot warmer than what I like. Take care and check in once in a while.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Summer Heat is here

Yep! The summer heat is here. Nasty stuff - it's 10:30pm, yes that's at night, and it is still 90 degrees outside. Yuck! I don't like the heat. Thank heavens for air conditioning. I will sleep better under the cooler.

I have discovered that I can survive the heat during the waking hours as long as I can be cool at night to sleep. I have to put away the dinner leftovers and rinse the dishes. I'll wait until tomorrow to do them. The air should be a bit cooler in the early morning hours. At least I hope so!

This weekend is the last one before summer arrives according to the calendar. Our temps are to be 100-106 and that's way too warm for me. To do laundry requires the dryer and that warms up the house. I'm not looking forward to this chore tomorrow.

How is your weather? Hopefully you have cooler temperatures than I do. If you have hotter than I do, I wish you the best of air conditioners at your house. Lands only knows this is one weekend I'd rather be at our cabin where it's a bit cooler since it's in the mountains. Alas, that is not scheduled for this weekend.

Well, I'm off to the land of Nod and cooler air. Take care and I'll write more later.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Quilts finished!

I've done it! I finished another 3 quilts off my UFO listing. I'm feeling pretty confident now that I will be able to finish that whole list this time around. Didn't even get to halfway the last time I signed up for the UFO challenge through the guild.

This Pink Flamingo is Joy. She is for a friend who is currently collecting flamingos. My friend doesn't know she's getting this. It's Patch Ability pattern that I saw a few years ago and decided I had to have. It was only recently that I went through my fabric stash and made up the quilt. It's small and will readily hang anywhere there is a space 6-8 inches wide.

This cute little chick sitting among brightly colored eggs is another Patch Ability pattern. However, it is a member of the Monthly Minis series from 2011. Okay, it took me a while to get it done....it should have been finished back the end of March 2011 so it could hang on the table topper for Easter 2011. I figure I finished it early for Easter 2013 since I missed 2012 as well. I like the colorful eggs and it will go up next year.

This lovely bunch of flowers are the Patch Ability Monthly Mini 2011 for May. They say April showers bring May flowers. Well, here's the proof. Since it looks like a watering can instead of a vase, I had to incorporate the word "Water" somehow. What better way then to quilt it in?

I am working on finishing a list of 18 quilts. These three mean I have 10 of those 18 done. I'm rather proud of myself since we are not half way through the year. I have a couple more sandwiched and ready to quilt, but won't get them done in time for the guild meeting this week. However, I do plan to have them done before the end of June and will do my best to finish the others in short order. Who knows, maybe i will get more than that 18 done if I can find the time to do so.

Stay tuned and see what develops!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Weekend in the Mountains

Well, it was a very interesting weekend in the mountains. We opened up our cabin this weekend and I have to say, the weather was not what I was expecting. We had hail on the road about an inch thick and slick as can be. Driving my father-in-law's van fully loaded was not the best choice on a mountain road. However, we made it just fine. We had several hail showers before we got the cabin open, but all of that was on Saturday. Sunday was a beautiful day and I got a bit done on my counted cross stitch.

Saturday, in between getting the cabin open and having dinner, I worked on the prep work for a hand full of small quilts. I now have to pick the fabrics and then do fusible applique. That will give me some handwork to do at lunchtime at work and when traveling with friends when it is NOT my turn to drive. Sunday I spent most of my day relaxing working on a counted cross stitch picture that is down to the last page and a half (out of twelve pages). I will someday finish this one. I've only been working on it, off and on, since 2008.

Monday, today, we drove home. Much nicer drive home than up to the cabin. We had to deal with the normal holiday traffic and I stopped a few times to allow drivers who wanted to go faster than me to go around. Still made it down the mountainside in good time.

Today is a celebration of remembrance for those who served our country in war times. Not just the ones who died, but also the ones who still serve. To them I say a very big THANK YOU!. Your service is appreciated. Happy Memorial Day to all.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Quilting Adventures

I have finished the seventh quilt from my UFO challenge for 2012. It's a little one, about 16 x 20 inches, and is made from the leftovers of a lap quilt that I made. I rather like the pattern and may just have to make another using different fabrics. I call it Ying Yang Leftovers. The original is Ying Yang Stars.

I have been working on other projects as well. Have finished the top for one my girlfriend and I are making for another friend. Next week it will get sandwiched and then my girlfriend will do the quilting. Once that is done, then I will put the binding on it. We are hoping to give it to our friend in July when we see her. Will post a picture when it is completed.

Thanks for checking in!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day

Wouldn't you know it? I forgot to wish all a Happy Mother's Day.

Everyday should be Mother's Day - they work harder than anyone else. There job is 24-7 with no breaks. They rarely get a vacation just by themselves. Did you thank your Mother today? You should.

If your mother is no longer living, make sure that you send wishes heaven bound. She will know that you sent them. I'm a firm believer in the here after and when my time on earth is done, I will be re-united with all my loved ones who have gone before me. I'll also get to meet the ones who went before I had a chance to meet and know them.

Magazine arrival

My magazine I won has arrived!  I have browsed through the pages and have found some marvelous blocks to do. I have even come up with an idea for a quilt! This is volume 5 and while I have the first 4, this is the only one I have won. The others I bought. Somehow I don't think it will any more cherished than the others, but it means a bit more since I didn't have to spend money to get it.

The way I won was by looking at the various blogs that Quiltmaker's blog, Quilty Pleasures, put up as a way to see what was coming prior to the magazine hitting the stands. I was thrilled to go to those blogs as they gave me an insight to what others are doing with their quilting habits. If you are not a quilter, you won't appreciate them as much as I do.

I'm working on several quilting projects right now and I really should be working on them instead of my blog. However, I wanted to update my blog, go that's what I'm doing.

Work is work - have to have that paycheck in order to spend money on my quilting habit. I would love to retire and just work on my quilts and maybe find my sewing room. Right now, I'm working in the dining room. I'm sure others of you are doing the same.

The weather has gone from spring to summer, contrary to what the calendar says. Yes, I know it's still technically spring, but when the temperatures get into the 90-95 degree range, that's summer to me. We've had a north breeze for days now and it just dries everything out. Me included. As a result, I drink a lot of fluids and stay hydrated as best I can.

I'm off to work on the misc. weekend stuff and then my quilts. See another time.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Winning

I've finally done it!  I won something off of a post I made on someone's blog. It's not much, it's a magazine, but it's one I was going to have to buy. Now I can use the Barnes & Noble gift card for something else that strikes my fancy.

What's new in your life? Any new quilts, read any new books, gone fishing, bought a car? None of those mentioned? Well, I've been working on quilts, I've read several books and I'm waiting to go fishing the end of this month. We'll open up our cabin and go throw a line into the creek just to say we went fishing. Have to love having that lifetime fishing license!

Well, I'm off to work on a couple of projects and then I'm going to watch "The Voice" to see who gets to stay and who goes home.

Take care and drop me a line once in a while.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

April gone crazy

Yep, it's true! April has gone crazy. The month started with temps in the 60 degree range. This past week we've had temps in the 90 degree range. We don't usually see them until May. I've discovered that my car needs a tune up. It doesn't like the air conditioner running when in stop and go traffic.

It's late evening and the outside temp is still too warm and inside the house is even warmer. I'm not going to turn on the cooler just yet. It's supposed to drop back to the upper 60's- low 70's by the end of the week. Our cabin is in snow country and the county will start plowing on Monday. Guess they figure that the snow season is over.

My missing friend is not missing after all. She's alive and well and still taking care of her parents. I have yet to get a mailing address for her, but I'm sure she'll get it to me before long. Wish she would do it soon as I want to send  a card to her.

I've been working on a couple of quilt projects and I hope to get a couple more of my UFO's done. Quilt guild is a little better than a week away and I only have one finished. I wanted to have 2 done, but with the rest of what I have to do this week, I certainly don't see it happening.

I'm off to bed. Morning comes to darn early on work days and one of my co-workers is on vacation, so I will need to do part of her work this next week. And I will have to get caught up on my own since I took 3 days off for vacation last week.

Take care and tell me what's new in your world.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Missing Friend

Well, it's finally happened to me. I am now the person worrying about someone I know who has gone "missing". She's not returning phone calls, not from any of her co-workers or friends, her Facebook page has not had any activity since she went to take care of her folks. Those who have her brother's and sister's Facebook addresses have gotten no response.

I now find myself praying daily for her to contact someone, anyone, to tell us all that she's okay. I have left her a message on her cell phone. I left a message on her Facebook page. I'm going to send a note to her address and see if maybe she answers that way. It just is NOT her to ignore all of us.

What can I do? Not a whole lot. I know roughly where her parents house is, but I don't know the name of the street so I'm not sure I could find it again having only been there once. I know roughly where her house is, but one of our co-workers has already gone by there and no car.

So I find myself wondering - did we do something wrong? Does she not like us any more? OR did the unthinkable happen and she has no way to let us know where she is. Did she lose the cell phone and the new IPad thing her dad bought her? I pray she's okay and I pray that she will somehow see either this message or answer the phone and get back to me.

If she just doesn't want to come back to work, hey, that's okay. I'm good with that, I just want to know she's okay.

If you're reading this, please, please, call me at work. Leave me a message after work if you don't want to talk.

Love you girlfriend!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

March going out like a lion

Yep, March is going out like a lion. Today being the last day of March, we have been blessed with some rather blustery rain deluges. No, they were not showers!  We could barely see across our backyard. Weather today is supposed to be rainy and windy. Well, so far that's what it's been. In looking at the weather radar map for our area, it looks like it will continue.

While March may be going out like a lion, spring is in evidence in our backyard. The apple tree is in bloom, although with this weather I doubt the bees will be doing their normal pollination flights. And the tulips are almost ready to start blooming. So, that said, I'll just watch the rain and the wind.

And that makes it a perfect day to stay inside and quilt. So, I'm going to do just that. I have 4 small quilts sandwiched and ready to do the quilting on. I hope to get at least 2 of them done so I have something to turn in from my UFO list. Once they've been turned in as a completed UFO, then I can show them during Show & Tell. If I can get 3 of them done, I'll be halfway through my UFO list. As long as I get one done, I'll be happy.

Meantime, the day will be spend with doing laundry, paying bills (Yuk!) and doing the other stuff that one has to do to keep the house prosperous.

Till next time!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

March and Spring

March is a month of many weather surprises. Sometimes it's wet and nasty, sometimes dry & windy. It also heralds in Spring. Here it seems that spring will be a little bit late. We've had rain most of the weekend and the weather people are predicting more of the same for this next week.

March also brings us daylight savings time. While I like the longer amounts of daylight in the evening, I can't say that we are really saving time. What knothead came up with that? Who knows, but we certainly can't save any of it for later.

I've been working on a project for our local theater. Seems they are doing "The Wizard of Oz" as a stage production and they needed poppy fields and snow fields. Enter the fabric - one piece of the most gorgeous scarlet poppies and one piece of (snow) white fabric - stitched together to make the fields. Sounds a bit crazy, but when you realize that some small person will be holding these fabric "sandwiches", it will work. I got them all done and back to the theater for the rehearsal that started at 6:30pm tonight. Considering I got them on Tuesday, I figure I did well. Now I just have to be able to find a night to go see it!

I've also been working on my UFO list and have made it to the spot where half way is in sight. I sandwiched another two small quilts today from that list and hope to get them finished before our next quilt guild meeting. I am determined to finish my list this time around. I got done the guild $2 block of the month as well today. All in all it's been a very productive weekend.

On to other things, another post, another time. Meantime, take care of yourselves.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

More quilts done

Yes, I'm getting more of my UFO listing done. For the second month in a row, I have finished 3 of them. While I'm not winning any prizes for this, I am feeling like I'm getting things done.

This one is called "Birds out My Window" and is one that has been hanging around since 2007 when I started it in Grass Valley at Pine Tree Quilt Guild Show. I'm really glad to get it done as it was one of my older UFOs. It was a free little lesson in how to do the black grill work. I forget what it's called, but since the lesson and the fabric to make the top were free, my friend and I signed up. Haven't seen anything like that at their show since.

This second one is called "Yellow Rose of Texas" and was a free pattern on the Whimsys web page. I have a small group that I get together with once a year to work on our projects. We usually attempt to try one new quilting method per year and try to get at least one project out of our stash either started or done. I worked on this project, but didn't quite get it done. I started a Halloween quilt that I've been collecting fabrics for and got the top mostly made. Still have a couple things left to do on it before I can sandwich it. When it's done, I'll post a picture of it here.

This little quilt is a Patch Ability pattern called "Park It, Wanda". I bought it as a kit, something I rarely do, and finally got it finished. It's small, 6" x 18", but I really love it. Course, I really like the pattern company which is a good thing since I probably own about 45-50 of their patterns.

I'm working on getting more of my quilts done so you will see more of them as I finish. I signed up to complete 18 for this UFO Challenge in 2012. I intend to finish them all plus maybe a few more. Our guild as a whole has 34 people signed up to finish 665 quilts. I certainly hope we can make a big dent in that number.

Till next time - have a good day and enjoy!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Vacation's over

Yep, my vacation is over and I have some more marvelous memories to store in my head and my heart. There were 4 of us for a trip to the coast where we stayed at a bed & breakfast, walked on the beach, took pictures, tried new food & drink, and had a blast. Of course, it will be hard for some to believe, but we 4 women are related by the dearest of ties. My mom and myself, my Aunt & my cousin. There is a large number of years between us all, but when we get together, there is no difference.

We laugh, we talk, we play, we rest. We try different things and sometimes we even watch while part do something we wouldn't all do. For example, my cousin & aunt went horseback riding on the beach. I can no longer participate in this, but I can certainly wander down on the beach to take pictures, as is seen here.

While I was talking pictures, Mom stayed in the car as she can no longer hike in the sand. She did join me for a little while on the paved walkway above the beach area.

We enjoyed our time on the coast and will most likely try it again another time. We've traveled together before and will most likely do it again. Hopefully, the next time my sister will be able to join us.

I worked on some of my quilts while on vacation and have now completed another 3 from my UFO list, but that will be another entry.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Vacations

They are nice to have!  I spent the first day of mine taking care of errands. Got the oil changed in the car, deposited a check, made a couple of reservations, talked with friends, picked up my mail, mailed a card to Canada, and had lunch with my husband.

Then when I got home, I grabbed a cold drink and sandwiched 4 small quilts. Called my mom, got some dinner, read a bit of a book, and played games on my computer. Now I'm thinking seriously about heading for bed so I can enjoy tomorrow, my 2nd day of vacation.

Sleep well and wake refreshed. Sounds good to me!  Night all.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Traffic Woes!

Traffic usually gets crazy around Christmas Time. This year the crazy was this past week. Monday I was "stuck" in traffic on the freeway for half an hour. I should have been 10 minutes early to work and instead was 20 minutes late. Thank heaven for a cell phone that works! I was able to call in to let my co-workers know where I was. I thought once I got to work "okay, now things will settle down". Boy was I wrong on that count!

I went to pick up my mail at the Post office after work. The 10 minute parking spaces were full, so I parked in the lot. Went in, got my mail, came back out, got in car. Simple, right? Not so! A gal knocked on my car window to get my attention. Not knowing her, I rolled down the window enough to hear what she had to say. Seems while I was in getting my mail, one of the vehicles in the lot had backed into my car giving it a new dent. Well, it had to be a new dent, there wasn't one there before!

Suffice to say, I am now dealing with that vehicle's insurance to try and get my car "back to new" or as I like to say, undented. Will have to schedule the repair job with my favorite shop and then wait while they do their magic.

So at this point, I'm thinking, okay, no more accidents on the freeway for a while. Now that was a wrong thought! Sure enough, on Thursday, it happened again. Only this time I was in a position I could get into the right hand lane and exit the freeway and go through town. I got to work with one minute to spare. I had to share the drive through town with all those other people who did the same thing.

I'm hoping that this will be it for a while. I hate seeing munched up cars on my way to work. I always feel bad for the people it happened to, yet, glad at the same time it wasn't me! I think the car insurance people are busy enough now. Let's give them a break and drive more defensively. Slow down and leave room between cars so we all have stopping room. In other words, don't ride my bumper.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

UFO Challenge

A UFO challenge is not a spaceship race, it's a quilt guild challenge to finish members' quilts that are UnFinshed Objects. And so starts a year with projects to work on that I want to finish. I have a list of 18 that I want to finish this year. And as of yesterday, I have finished 3 of that list. They are small, but they are done. They have labels on the back telling what they are and when they were finished.

I am going to post them here for you to see. The first one reminds me of a summer day when I was younger and used to wait for the ice cream man to come buy so we could spend a quarter getting a cold confection of our choice. Did you do that as a child? The beach ball could remind you of the beach as well since most of those beaches had a snack shack somewhere along the way.

The second one is more of a garden quilt as it reminds me of the scarecrow in the garden that was meant to represent a person to scare away the birds and animals that would try to eat the goodies from the garden. He was always dressed in a dapper fashion and the clothes didn't have to match. He wore a hat to keep the sun off his head and a jacket to keep him warm at night.

The third one is for October and reminds us of Halloween with its pumpkins and Witch's hat & broom. Do you know which witch will be riding tonight? Or any other night for that matter? Even the topper on the frame gives an added mystery to the whole picture.

I have more on my list to do and so you shall see more that show here. With these three done, I only have 15 more to finish this year. My goal is to finish all of them and maybe more. A list of 18 may sound like a lot, but when half of them are only 12 x 14 inches, it really isn't much of a list. So, you get to stay tuned and I will keep working on my quilts!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Rainy days

Well, we thought the rain was going to keep passing us by. The last few days it decided to visit us. We've had roads with chain requirement due to snow. We've had water everywhere and finally puddles. The farmers are thrilled because now they won't have to water for at least a few days. Ranchers are hoping that the young grasses will grow in the fields so they don't have to feed as much hay. Sounds like a win win situation.

While I dislike being wet and cold, I can just hibernate at home and get some of my projects done. Today will be working on quilting and household chores. I have a challenge with my quilt guild, a UFO challenge, in which I listed some of my quilts that need finishing. There are 18 on that list and I'm determined to finish the list. Last time we did this, I put 37 on the list and only got 13 done that year. While I've finished another 10 done from that original list, I think if I start with a smaller list I will get more done. Worth trying anyway.

Will post pictures when I get them done. Kind of like a log of what happens. Till next time.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Family is Important

Family IS important!  Yes, you say you know that. But how many of your relatives do you stay in touch with? Just the local ones? Just your own immediate family? Parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles?

Well, I've decided that my family is all inclusive of the above. I e-mail most of my relatives. Some I still send snail mail to. I visit with my family members whenever I can. I have a trip planned with my mom, aunt and a cousin for February. July will see some other cousins. I will always love my family and the older I get, the more of them I want to see. Seems like as a kid, I always thought they'd be there for me whenever. Now that I'm a grown up, I realize that having them close is much more important than I thought.

If you family is spread all over the USA like mine is, then you have to rely on e-mail or letters. But do keep in touch - they are your life line and we can love them now and really enjoy the time we can spend with them. I bless God every day for my relatives and my friends.